| XERXES | |
|---|---|
 XERXES as he appears in System Shock 2 | |
|
Homeworld |
Earth. Stationed aboard the Von Braun. |
|
Species |
Artificial Intelligence |
|
Alliances |
The Many, TriOptimum Corporation |
|
Status |
Destroyed |
| “ | This is XERXES. Can you not feel the glory of the flesh? Do you not yearn to be free of the tyranny of the individual? | ” |
–XERXES, System Shock 2 | ||
XERXES was the onboard computer A.I. of the Von Braun, and one of the antagonists of System Shock 2. His original purpose was to monitor the Von Braun expedition to Tau Ceti V. Throughout the course of the game, XERXES is under the telepathic sway of The Many, hindering the Soldier and monitoring his actions as he tries to defeat The Many.
The Artificial Intelligence program itself had an deliberately unstable security system so that, in the event of XERXES going rogue, the system could be easily hacked to stop such a revolt. Unfortunately, this weakness leads to him being taken over by The Many and eventually by SHODAN.